Hot Potato

Doro smiled and asked, “Do you want me to pick the fruit for you?”

Before Huanhuan could speak, Hui Jian said very seriously, “Only she can pick this fruit. No one else can help.”

What a strange request.

Hui Jian poked Ju An beside him with his walking cane. “Go and bring her a stool.”

Ju An didn’t say anything this time. He quickly brought over a small stool and placed it beside the sapling. Then, he helped Huanhuan stand on it.

With the help of the stool, Huanhuan could finally touch the golden fruit this time.

She held the fruit and plucked it with a gentle tug.

The moment she plucked the fruit, the originally vibrant sapling instantly lost its vitality. Its leaves and stem withered quickly. Finally, it turned into a wisp of dust and disappeared.

Huanhuan froze in place.

She had only picked a fruit, but the entire sapling had withered.

When did she become so lethal?!

Just as Huanhuan was feeling uneasy, Ju An and Hui Di knelt down with a plop. They were so excited that they were about to cry.

Huanhuan was so frightened by their sudden action that she almost rolled off the stool.

Fortunately, Bai Di was quick enough to pick her up.

Huanhuan said to the two tree people, “Don’t cry. At most, I’ll compensate you with another sapling.”

Hui Jian tried to calm his excitement, his old eyes filled with respect. “To tell you the truth, that sapling is actually a branch cut from the Holy Tree. We inserted it into the soil to nurture it. That’s how it grew into what you just saw.”

Huanhuan thought to herself that it was over. She had killed the Holy Tree that they had painstakingly kept.

The Holy Tree was very precious. She probably couldn’t afford it.

She tried her best to defend herself. “I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t know what happened. The sapling suddenly withered.”

“That sapling relied on the fruit of the Holy Tree to survive. If you pick the fruit, that sapling naturally won’t be able to survive.”

So that was how it was! Huanhuan quickly cleared her name. “You were the ones who asked me to pick the fruit just now. I’ll return the fruit to you. The sapling’s death has nothing to do with me. Don’t try to blackmail us with this.”

Hui Jian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “We have no intention of blackmailing you.”

“You said it. We had nothing to do with the sapling’s death. We’re not responsible for compensation.”

Bai Di patted her arm. “Don’t keep thinking about compensation,” he said gently. “They seem to have something more important to tell us. Let them finish.”

Huanhuan made a zipping gesture and shut up obediently.

Bai Di said to Hui Jian and Ju An, “Stand up and talk. It’s quite awkward for you two to keep kneeling like this.”

Hui Jian and Ju An subconsciously looked at Huanhuan.

Huanhuan didn’t understand why they suddenly respected her so much. She saw the other party look at the golden fruit in her hand from time to time and thought that they might not respect her but the fruit in her hand.

After all, this was the only fruit left behind by the Holy Tree.

Huanhuan waved her hand, indicating that they should get up and talk.

With her permission, Ju An helped Hui Jian stand up.

Hui Jian cleared his throat and said, “The blue wind continent was attacked by demons. The Holy Tree died to protect the continent. Before it died, it handed us the branch that grew a fruit and asked us to leave the blue wind continent with it.

“The Holy Tree told us that this fruit is a seed left behind by it. As long as the seed can sprout, it’ll definitely grow into a new Holy Tree in the future.

“The holy tree also said that only the person chosen by the gods can pluck this fruit and help it take root and sprout.

“You’re the one who plucked the fruit.”

…

Huanhuan looked confused.

All she did was just help pick a fruit? Why was she being forced into this situation in the blink of an eye?!

Hui Jian was getting excited again and waved the walking cane in his hand while shouting, “You were chosen by the gods. As long as we follow you, those demons won’t be able to hurt us anymore. We can live a happy and stable life like before!”

Huanhuan: “…”

At this moment, she finally realized that the fruit in her hand was actually a hot potato.

Huanhuan opened her mouth. “I’m just an ordinary person. I don’t have the ability to fight demons. You should take the fruit back—”

Bai Di interrupted her.

He said, “Put away the fruit. We’ll bring the tree people back to the beast continent.

“Huh?”

Huanhuan did not understand why he wanted to bring these tree people back with them.

God knew if these tree people would cause them trouble on the way. All she wanted to do now was go home. It would be best if nothing unexpected happened.

She looked at Bai Di, indicating with her eyes that he should give a reasonable explanation.

Bai Di said, “These tree people can help us farm.”

Huanhuan: “…”

It was a rather practical reason.

Xue Ling also said, “There are only about a hundred of these tree people. With the size of our ship, they can definitely fit.”

Shuang Yun stroked his chin. “There’s never been a tree person on the beast continent. If a group of tree people starts living in Rock City, they might attract more beasts to join us in the future.”

The three of them agreed to accept the support of these tree people.

The few of them took the majority. Huanhuan could only compromise. “Alright, since you don’t think they’ll get in the way, we’ll bring them along.”

After getting their approval, Hui Jian and Ju An were very happy.

Hui Jian quickly asked, “When are you leaving for the beast continent?”

“We were supposed to set off today, but the weather at sea is bad. We’ve decided to set off two days later. You can use these two days to pack up.”

“Okay, okay. We’ll go pack now.”

Afraid that Huanhuan would change her mind, he immediately urged Ju An, “Hurry up and inform the tribesmen to pack up.”

Ju An gathered the tribesmen and told them the news that they were about to go to the beast continent.

The tree people did not understand why they suddenly had to leave, but since the leader and the elder had already made the decision, they trusted them and did not ask further. After the meeting, they went to pack their things.

The seeds and saplings that had just been planted were all dug out. They wanted to take all these things away.

The entire tree tribe was busier than before.

Doro did not expect things to change like this. She kept sighing. “It wasn’t easy for me to fall for a beautiful man, but you’re kidnapping him away. Huanhuan, if you continue doing this, our friendship will fail!”

Huanhuan smiled heartlessly. “Don’t worry, we’ll be leaving in two days. We won’t hinder you from finding a husband in the future.”

“Go, go, go! Hurry up and leave!” Doro waved her hand. She looked impatient, but she was concerned. “You’d better leave quickly. If the dragon emperor finds out that you have the fruit of the Holy Tree, he’ll definitely send someone to snatch it.”